Treadmill

“ He is on a treadmill ever ascending, tramping, up, up, up and up, and still up, but the wheel falls down each time as far as he steps up, and after hours and hours of unceasing, wracking, distressful mental labor, he has done absolutely nothing, has not progressed one inch, is still in the clutch of the same vicious treadmill. ”

“ At the rate of about a mile and a half an hour, I observed several hundred quiet people crawling through and fretting away that portion of their existence which lay between one glass of cold iron water and another. If an individual were to be sentenced to such a life, which, in fact, has all the fatigue without the pleasing sociability of the treadmill, he would call it melancholy beyond endurance ”

“ It was really the tandem which did most to increase the popularity of the sport among women. The sociable, where the riders sit side by side, was the first of the double machines, but it is an instrument of torture rather than of pleasure, as whoever has tried to work it knows to his or her cost. Its width makes it awkward and cumbersome even on good roads, and when there is a head wind—and the wind always blows in one's face—the treadmill is child's play in comparison. ”

“ So down we went into the depths of the earth. The hole was about as big as a kitchen chimney, and had on one side of it a number of iron bars, serving as a ladder. Our guide went first, then my companion, then I myself. I shall never forget the experience. I have often heard of the treadmill, and this seemed a revised edition of the punishment. Each bar hurt my feet, and each foot of descent increased my temperature. I went very slowly—it was impossible to go fast in overalls "36." ”

“ The treadmill, indeed—which might be likened to an overshot waterwheel in which the human foot supplied the place of the falling water in giving power—has become obsolete, though a modification of it, to be driven by animal power, is still sometimes used, as we shall see in a moment.
All these are illustrations of mechanisms with the aid of which human labor is made effective. They show the devices by which primitive man used his ingenuity in making his muscular system a more effective machine for the performance of work. ”

“ As we got lower the temperature increased; then perspiration broke out. Never having practised on the treadmill, my muscles ere long began to feel the unwonted exercise, and I thought to myself, “If you are in this state so soon, what will you be when you get to the bottom, and how will you get up again?”
At this point we reached the foot of another ladder, and Captain Jan said, “We’ll walk a bit in the level here and then go down the pump-shaft.” The change of posture and action in the level we had now entered was agreeable, but the path was not a good one. ”

“ She would, through habit, have yielded to his desire; not with any sense of submission or obedience to his compelling wishes, but unthinkingly, as we walk, move, sit, stand, go through the daily treadmill of the life which has been portioned out to us. ”

“ The wheel in which he takes his treadmill exercise any tin or wire worker can make, and the hole which connects it with the house should be large enough to prevent any possibility of his getting squeezed if he attempts to go into his house while the wheel is turning rapidly. ”

“ The secret of the motion is to lunge slightly forward at the hurdle and to spread the legs to the widest angle as you clear it. The movement is somewhat similar to that which a man would make if he were suspended from the ceiling, his toes just touching the floor, and a series of hurdles on a treadmill were passing under him. ”

“ To maintain basic fitness it does not matter so much what form of exercise is chosen, as long as it is not damaging to the skeletal system or connective tissues. Many people are unable to run due to foot, knee, hip, or back problems, but almost everyone can walk. Walking outside is better than inside on a treadmill, and walking hills is better than walking on flat ground. Exercise machines such as stationary bikes, cross country ski machines, and stair steppers work well for a lot of people who live in the city, especially in the winter, or for those who hate exercise. ”

“ Quite often, if the lifting be not carefully graduated in weight, the in-rushing blood bursts some of the finer net-work of the vessels, or the delicate covering of the muscles is rudely torn, and the would-be athlete is an invalid for life.
The one-pound or two-pound dumb-bell strains nothing: it only adds to the swing of the hands. The exercise can be varied so as to develop upper and lower limbs and trunk. It is particularly adapted to those who are not trained athletes. Say, the arms are thin and weak and soft, and you want to increase their size, strength, and firmness. ”

“ It is a kind of exercise that in turn brings into use almost every muscle in the body, those of the legs being of course taxed most severely, but those of the back do their full share of the work, while the arms are called into action almost constantly, as the climber grasps bushes or rocks by which to aid himself in the ascent. The lungs expand and contract like bellows as they inhale and exhale the rarified atmosphere, and the heart beats like a trip-hammer as it pumps the invigorated blood through the system. ”

“ From this point of view the science of walking will be treated in the present work; for whether a man may have entered in an engagement to run, walk, jump, swim, row, or box, no training can be thoroughly accomplished until the athlete has undergone a certain amount of exercise on foot, and reduced his superfluous weight to such an extent that he can follow up his peculiar forte with fair chance of improvement, or at least so that he may not have to stop short from sheer want of wind or strength. ”

“ On the other hand, if you run most of the way at a good speed keeping a wide distance and seldom throw the ball, the lower limbs have more work to do. The quickness of action and the speed required, involve no great muscular strain but they exercise the lungs, while the vigorous effort, as you grasp the ball and catch and throw it, although it needs no speed of foot, yet braces and strengthens the body. If the ball is thrown both vigorously and at full speed there will be a considerable strain on the body and on the lungs: it will be indeed the most violent form of exercise possible. ”

“ Increased exercise is the price of increased vigor. Running and walking steel the leg-sinews. In order to strengthen his wrist-joints a man must handle heavy weights. Almost any bodily exercise—but especially swinging, wood-chopping, carrying weights, and walking uphill—increases the action of the lungs, and thus gradually their functional vigor. Gymnastics that expand the chest facilitate the action of the respiratory organs, and have the collateral advantage of strengthening the sinews, and invigorating the system in general, by accelerating every function of the vital process. ”

“ For such people bicycle riding is not by any means the healthiest exercise that could be found. In the first place, it is an extraordinary stimulus to the heart. If you dismount after working up a bad hill you may very possibly find your pulse at 150—something unusual in almost any running game. Then again, while riding exercises certain muscles of the legs admirably, the shoulders and back muscles are not only not getting much training, but in certain too common positions they are actually being distorted. ”

“ A runner, after performing a certain space, is seized with a difficulty of breathing, long before the repetition of the contractions has produced fatigue in the abdominal members. To excel, therefore, in running, requires, like walking and dancing, a peculiar exercise. As the muscular contractions depend, for their principle of excitement, on the respiration, the chest should be firmly fixed, so as both to facilitate this, and to serve as a point of support for the efforts of the lower members. The best runners are those who have the best wind, and keep the breast dilated for the longest time. ”

“ A quarter of a mile is, perhaps, next to the 300 yards, the most patronized of any. Assuming our trainee to be in robust health, the muscles should be gradually accustomed to the exercise by slow spins of half a mile each, two or three times a day, taking about from 3min. to 2min. 25sec., according to the individual, to do it. When the distance is accomplished with comparative ease, practice style and pace for about 300 yards to 350 yards to within about a week of the race, when the whole distance may be run, two or three times at top speed for 400 yards, slower the last 40. ”

“ Let the novice, some five weeks or so before the day of his race, begin his practice by a steady run, three or four times a day, of a quarter of a mile or so; so gently at first as to produce no stiffness of the muscles when the temperature produced by the exercise has subsided, and the circulation has recovered its usual condition. When the novice has got his legs into moderate good fettle, so that they could stand a little sharp work, he might quicken up for about 50 yards in each of his quarter spins ”

“ A heave is not so effective as a quick jump, with the muscles concentrated at the same moment. The quicker the hop and the throw are made, the further the distance put, provided that the balance is not lost. Any delay between the first hop and the final spring is fatal. In delivering the weight, let it be put upwards—that is to say, aim to hit an object about fourteen feet above the spot where the weight will pitch. The further the weight has to be put, the higher must be the elevation. No exercise is a greater proof of strength than this. ”

“ When he has regained the small quantity necessarily lost at starting the muscular action, and increased on it, he has got what is called his "second wind," and then he is able to go on while his muscular power holds out.
Running is the best exercise to increase the breathing and staying power, as the muscles used in propelling the runner's body do not interfere with those of respiration. The runner can hold his breath, with the chest fully extended, for a long time, while the rower, for instance, must fill his lungs at each stroke,—from thirty to forty times a minute. ”

“ Thus continual track work is likely to develop the running nerves to the utmost before the heart and lungs are at prime. Conversely stated, if the development of the running nerves is retarded so as to keep pace with the development of the heart and lungs, the total result is likely to be higher. All this amounts to what any good English trainer will tell you—that you must take long walks on up and down grades in order to rest your running muscles and at the same time give your heart and lungs plenty of work—that is, in order to keep from getting "track stale." ”

“ The athlete works to the predetermined number of repetitions. The repetitions may be 10, if the work is short and recovery is long. Interval Training is designed by its intensity not to exercise muscles much faster than you can supply them with oxygen. You never perform at maximum; i.e. you never go all out but you stay in that phase where you supply oxygen nearly as rapidly as you need it.
The circulo-respiratory endurance is dependant on the effectiveness of heart, blood vessels and lungs which together capture oxygen and deliver it in the blood stream to the muscles. ”

“ To weakly constitutions training may be injurious—even fatal. In developing the voluntary muscles, as of the arm and leg, the growth of which we can measure, we must be careful of the involuntary muscles—those regulating the heart and lungs, and which are naturally and unconsciously brought into use. Of course, those muscles most brought into play by special exercise will be most developed—of the legs and thighs, for instance, in walking, and those of the arms, legs, and loins in rowing. ”

“ They use all the force they can, in pressing upon the pedals, and clasp the handle in front, as if hanging on for dear life. Do not strain the muscles of the arms. There is no necessity for it, or for any violent muscular effort. A good rider can obtain the greatest speed upon the road with half the exertion used by the novice in learning the first movements.
If the day after your first attempt you feel a little lame and sore, remember that it is nothing more than you would feel after riding horseback for the first time, or after taking gentle but unaccustomed exercise in a gymnasium. ”

“ Among special exercises I should put first those that strengthen the forearm and fingers, for ‘gripping’; those that build up the muscles of the trunk, which have the greatest share of work to do in climbing; those that train the body to balance easily up and down on one leg, for balance; and those (if there are any but wood chopping) which prepare the shoulders and trunk for the movement of step cutting. But the working in easy combination of groups of muscles is what the climber aims at. Excessive exercise of independent groups is apt to militate against quick muscular interaction. ”

“ The rule for running is to begin slowly, run moderately for perhaps fifty feet, then increase the speed gradually; but in running for exercise, never speed to the utmost. A five-mile gait is quite sufficient. The run should be closed with the same moderation with which it was begun, and the girl should never stop short, as this sudden arrest of action gives a most undesirable shock to the heart.
In beginning to take any form of exercise the intensity and duration of the movements practiced must be increased very gradually, or positive harm instead of good will be done. ”

“ Thus much for the muscular exercise; but the mental advantage is equally great. The attention required to steer the machine is sufficient to distract the mind from wearisome thoughts. The rapidity of the motion not only causes a pleasant breeze to play about the face and fill the lungs, but brings about a rapid change of place and sights, and consequently of ideas. The motion can be rapid or slow, and can be instantly changed, which gives the rider a pleasant sense of power. In short, all these and other advantages combine to make tricycling healthful alike to body and mind. ”